Technology and R&D

French engineer André Buhart has published the plans and open-source software to create a DIY “solar energy router” to manage PV overproduction. Depending on the configuration, the device can direct excess photovoltaic energy to water heaters, pool motors, or underfloor heating, among others.

Scientists in Iran have developed a novel framework to optimize the capacity of PV and battery storage in smart homes, using a two-stage stochastic programming model. They considered the uncertainties in the grid, market price, and PV output, while also looking at different operation cases.

Envision recently completed a large-scale, CSA C800 witnessed burn test of its 5 MWh energy storage system, demonstrating robust thermal containment and adding to industry-wide safety efforts.

A team of UK researchers is working on lightweight cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar devices for space arrays. The aim is to develop 20%-efficient ultra-thin devices to provide lightweight, compact, lower cost solar power for satellites and space-based manufacturing applications.

Deye has developed a new power conversion system (PCS) optimized for solar integration, with modules ranging from 100 kW to 125 kW. The Chinese manufacturer says the PCS supports flexible system design and targets commercial and industrial (C&I) applications.

Scientists in Switzerland have conducted techno-economic analysis of perovskite solar module manufacturing costs in terms of levelized cost of energy and have found that these products could be competitive in the Alpine country provided that they achieve an efficiency of over 24% with a lifespan of 20 years and over 20% with a lifecycle of 30 years.

An international research group has investigated how PV-powered heat pumps and district heating could be combined to heat a multi-apartment building in Sweden and have found that, of the three combinations they evaluated, relying on heat pumps as the primary heat source was the “most beneficial solution” in terms of operating costs and environmental impact.

Researchers in Italy are tackling two metal halide perovskite solar PV challenges, reduce the use of lead and extend stability of the power conversion efficiency, in a novel combination of micro-concentrators and picosecond laser processing.

The Genius Tracker TF supports slops of up to 1.7 degrees between posts, thereby reducing land grading costs.

Risen Energy says it has achieved an average power output of 740 W for its mass-produced heterojunction (HJT) solar module, with certified cell efficiency of 26.61% and module efficiency of 24.81%, according to China’s Fujian Metrology Institute. Encapsulation losses were limited to 1.8%.